GIVE YOUR BABY ANTIBIOTICS, AND THEY ARE MORELIKELY TO BE OVERWEIGHT BY AGE FIVE

"Infants who were given multiple courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics had a 20% increased risk of becoming obese toddlers." From Medscape's November 19, 2013 coverage of Obesity Week 2013: The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the Obesity Society Joint Annual Scientific Meeting

It's not quite a year since the study above was presented, and today we know that this problem is worse than originally believed --- much worse (HERE). But if you're a reader of my site, none of this is brand new information. I've shown you before that ANTIBIOTICS (even just A ROUND OR TWO) are intimately linked to a myriad of health problems, including obesity (HERE). We also know that fat children tend to be fat adults. Now try this one on for size (no pun intended).

A recent study of nearly 65,000 children by Dr. Charles Bailey of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has concluded in the October issue of JAMA Pediatrics (Association of Antibiotics in Infancy With Early Childhood Obesity) that, "Repeated exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics at ages 0 to 23 months is associated with early childhood obesity." In other words, the more Antibiotics your child takes before they are two, the greater the chances they will be OBESE by five. Scary stuff! But every cloud has a silver lining, and I will get to this one shortly.

The study went on to say that, "common childhood infections were the most frequent diagnoses co-occurring with broad-spectrum antibiotic prescription". What kinds of infections are they talking about here? Stop and think about it. What sort of infections do little kids and infants typically get? It's a no-brainer.

EAR INFECTIONS: Dr. Bailey actually mentioned that EAR INFECTIONS are the number one reason that infants are prescribed Antibiotics. Too bad he's not aware of the information available to parents when they click this bullet point's link. But then again, this is the sort of thing that doctors like to keep under wraps as much as possible.

SORE THROATS: Sore throats are one of several URI's ("Upper Respiratory Infection"). See the bullet point below. By the way, the same issue of JAMA Pediatrics that carried this study, carried another on sore throats (Pharyngitis) in infants. In this study, physicians looked at records of children with sore throats from 1997 to 2010. Their conclusions? "Viral infections account for the majority of pharyngitis episodes..." In other words, the vast majority of sore throats in infants are viral, and not bacterial as you'll see in the next bullet (hint; the antibiotics will not benefit viral infections). Those of you who are worried about Strep Throat need to read famous pediatrician, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn's magnum opus, HOW TO RAISE A HEALTHY CHILD IN SPITE OF YOUR DOCTOR. An amazing book that I would not want to raise my kids without.

COLDS & UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS:All Colds and FLU are viral infections, and approximately 90% of all URI's are viral (HERE), despite the fact that many (probably not a stretch to say "most") physicians continue to prescribe Antibiotics for them.

FEVER:FEVERS have numerous causes, but if you are interested in the low-down, click on the link.

The real problem though, is not just that these massive amounts of Antibiotics are helping to make our nations children the fattest generation in history (HERE), it's the fact that this is simply a side effect of what's going on underneath the surface. Antibiotics destroy GUT HEALTH, and the 80% of your body's Immune System that lives there (HERE). Once you begin to understand the fact that Antibiotic use causes DYSBOISIS, and that Dysbiosis is associated not only with Obesity, but with AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES as well as cancer (HERE), you should start to realize that this information cannot be taken lightly (again, no pun intended) if you care about the futures of your children / grandchildren.

The really cool thing is that when we talk about "chronic" health problems as they relate to children (these are the problems that only adults used to have), they tend to respond like gang-busters when the correct treatment is applied. What makes up "correct treatment"? in this context? Only your doctor can legally tell you that, but suffice it to say, they may not be telling you the whole story (for Pete's sake; they are the ones that prescribed the antibiotics --- the vast majority "inappropriately" --- in the first place!). For a better idea of what will work for helping your kids get back on track, click HERE.

Leave a Reply.

Dr. Schierling completed four years of Kansas State University's five-year Nutrition / Exercise Physiology Program before deciding on a career in Chiropractic. He graduated from Logan Chiropractic College in 1991, and has run a busy clinic in Mountain View, Missouri ever since. He and his wife Amy have four children (three daughters and a son).